Shemar Moore found himself out $60,000 after befriending actor Keith Tisdell and getting him involved with this retail business.
via NY Daily News:
Tisdell appeared in an early episode of “Criminal Minds” in 2006 and later scored a follow-up role in a 2013 episode that focused on Moore’s character.
The men became fast friends, with Tisdell posting more than a dozen Instagram photos since April 2013 showing the two attending industry events together and going on trips and bike rides.
Tisdell was arrested in January for stealing from Moore through the actor’s retail merchandise company Baby Girl LLC, which gives a portion of its sales to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, authorities said.
Tisdell pleaded no contest to felony grand theft in July and was sentenced to three years of formal probation and 45 days of CalTrans labor on Wednesday.
Moore, 46, appeared at the sentencing and told the judge that Tisdell hurt him deeply, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I’m not here for money. I’m here because he betrayed a friendship. This is not OK. You don’t do this to people,” Moore reportedly told the judge.
Moore said on top of the money stolen from his company, he also bought Tisdell $10,000 rims for his car, funded shared vacations and gave him up to $20,000 to help with expenses, the Times reported.
It was an audit that eventually uncovered Tisdell’s shenanigans, Moore said, but the friend didn’t take responsibility when initially confronted.
“In my mind, he wasn’t man enough to look me in the eye and fess up,” Moore reportedly told the judge.
“I’ve done a lot for him because he had me, my friends, fooled,” Moore said.
The Times reported that after the sentencing on Wednesday, Tisdell’s lawyer gave Moore $5,000 worth of money orders.
Tisdell must repay about $56,000 more to meet the terms of his probation and avoid jail, the newspaper said.
The day he was sentenced, Tisdell posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, “Sometimes you have to do what you DON’T want to do…in order to get where you NEED to be.”
This is why you rarely, if ever, mix friends and business.
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